"Endoscopy last minute cancellation."

I have just found this website and would like to comment on my recent experience with the Colo-Rectal Clinic. I had an appointment on the 17th December at 5.45 pm but at approximately 5.10 I received a telephone call telling me that the endoscopist was sick and that my appoinment was cancelled. I suffer badly with anxiety that causes my blood pressure to rise to a ridiculous level and this is not good for my health. I worry in the days before the procededure and am very relieved when it is over. I have now been given another appointment for the 28th January at 6.20 pm, so I have a further month to worry about it. This is not the first time it has happened. On a previous occasion I was asked to text a confirmation and immediately afterwards received a letter cancelling the appointment. I would remind the Trust of the paragraph on their appointment letter. "It is important that you attend for all hospital appointments. Shot notice cancellations and missed appointments cost East Lancashire Hospitals six million pounds a year"

Responses

Dear Ms Whyte Many thanks for your feedback on your experience of our Endoscopy service, and thank-you for taking the time to do so. I will make sure your concerns about cancelled appointments at the last minute are passed onto the team- unfortunately sometimes when key staff are suddely taken sick it often requires their clinics to be cancelled if there is no-one else who can do their work, but I do appreciate how this can add to what is already an anxious time for you waiting for the procedure and can only apologise. If you would like to talk through your experience with one of our Patient Experience team so we can understand the bits of our care that made this such a poor for you we would really value this so that we can try to improve things for every patient visiting our hospitals and services. You can either contact me (Wendy Stobbs) on 01254 734471/ 01254 733704 or email me on wendy.stobbs@elht.nhs.uk. If you would like to share your experience in confidence with an independent organisation please contact Healthwatch BwD on 01254 504985 or info@healthwatchblackburnwithdarwen.co.uk Or if you prefer you can discuss further any concerns you may have about our services with our East Lancashire Hospitals Trust Customer Relations team on 01254 733700 or complaints@elht.nhs.uk who can advise you of your options in raising these concerns further. Many thanks for commenting and best wishes for the New Year Wendy Stobbs, Patient Experience Facilitator